Have you ever been at the beach and gotten a grain of sand in your eye? It felt like a boulder, didn’t it? Have you ever felt insignificant in God’s kingdom, like you had nothing or little to offer God—that you were a “nobody”? Well, today we’re going to talk about how the littlest (and seemingly insignificant) things can have a huge impact when God’s involved.

God uses the small things in our lives to do great, big things but we can sometimes miss them because we tend to overlook, underestimate, or even ignore the things that God has already put in our lives. We really need to remember that with God, the “big” is in the “little”. This passage explains…

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’” (Matt. 25:23 NKJ).

This passage describes the joy of the master when a servant is faithful with the resources and responsibilities given him, and how a servant’s faithfulness with little things earns a master’s trust and blessings. When we are faithful in the small things, God is pleased and adds bigger things to us.

Today I’d like to talk about a couple of the people in the Bible that you may not have ever thought twice about. At first glance, their presence may seem insignificant but there’s a lesson there for us. The first is a lady by the name of Lydia. Lydia hasn’t gotten a lot of attention or headlines. She is not an Esther, a Ruth, or even a Mary. In fact, she is only mentioned once, but her name is in the Bible – the greatest book ever written. Lydia meets the Apostle Paul and some of the disciples in Acts and with her heart for hospitality, she invites them over to her house.

1.      “One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. She was baptized along with other members of her household, and she asked us to be her guests. ‘If you agree that I am faithful to the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my home.’ And she urged us until we did.” (Acts 16:14-15 NLT)

Little did Lydia know that after she invited Paul to her house, he would write a letter to her home town that would be seen by millions of people, 2,000 years later, watching a World Championship boxing fight. Some of you may remember that heavyweight boxing championship match between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.  What you may not recall is that Evander Holyfield as a proclaimed Christian, believer in Jesus Christ, while Mike Tyson was a professed staunch Muslim. Just picture it as Evander stepped into the ring and there, at the bottom edge of the boxing shorts of the soon-to-be heavyweight champion of the world, was the scripture Philippians 4:13,”I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” Thousands in Las Vegas and millions of people through Pay-per-View got to witness the Word of God being proclaimed. You see, sometimes when it comes to God, the big is in the little.

You never know whose life you will touch. You never know whose heart you will reach with an act of hospitality or kindness. Do you think that Lydia had any idea that the Apostle Paul, whom she extended a hospitality to, would eventually author 13 books of the Bible?  And that his writing and teaching would revolutionize the church from that day until now and beyond.

The point is…just as Lydia had no idea how her acts may have helped enable God’s plan, we may not think twice about how occurrences or opportunities in our lives that God may eventually use in a big way. You might not recognize the potential for big results, or you might not even see the results of your labor right away, but whatever you do, don’t overlook the small things.

Perhaps you’ve heard Pastor Wayne talk about Mordechai Hammond. He was a traveling evangelist who did tent revival meetings all across the United States. One day, when the weather was bad, hardly anyone showed up for Mordechai’s service. When it came time for the altar call, Mordechai could’ve forgone the altar call because there were so few people there that it’d hardly seem worth it. But Mordechai was faithful and a handful of people came forward to accept Jesus Chrits into their lives that day. One of those people was a boy by the name of William Graham – better known as Billy Graham. Mordechai could’ve gotten discouraged and not done an altar call but he was faithful to God’s calling and God took his “little” and converted it into a “big” – the saving of Billy Graham who in turn has helped save tens of thousands.

Can you always see whose life you may touch? No. You never know how your influence on a person may touch someone or be passed on to someone else, or how that person you reached out to with a simple phone call could turn out to be the next Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, or Wayne Cordeiro.

We first heard about Lydia, a woman mentioned only once in the Bible, but the next story is about a young boy whose name we don’t even know. Talk about being insignificant but he helped enable one of the greatest miracles ever recorded in the Bible. The story is about when Jesus multiplied the loaves of bread and the fish to feed the multitudes. This young boy that we speaking about remembered to bring his lunch and Jesus was able to take what little the boy had to offer and turn it into something very great. Thousands were blessed by his gift. This shows us…

·        A KIND GESTURE OR AN ACT OF LOVE IS NEVER TOO SMALL FOR GOD TO USE.

The Bible says:

2.      “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and passed them out to the people. Afterward He did the same with the fish. And they all ate until they were full.” (John 6:11)

God took the little that boy had and turned it into something great. Sometimes God’s big is in the little. We might think we have very little to offer to God but He can take whatever we bring and turn it into a mighty miracle. This story ends not only with everybody full, but with twelve baskets of food leftover because our God is a God of more-than-enough! 

That’s the kind of God we serve; He puts the big in the little. If we are thankful for the small things, He will add unto us the greater things. If He sees that we are faithful in the little things He puts before us, God will say, “Ah yes, I can trust him. He is doing the best with what little he has. Now, I will add onto him.”

Let me share one of my personal stories with you when I had much to learn about thankfulness. It was one of the hottest summers we had had in a long time and my wife was pregnant. We lived in the oldest house in our area – almost 80 years old, one of those old-style plantation homes with the tin roof. It was so old that if the termites moved out, the house would fall apart.

Well, it was very hot and I felt sorry for my pregnant wife so we decided to buy and install an air conditioner in our bedroom. We turned it on to run all day but the room never cooled down. There were too many holes in the walls! After the 39^th can of wood putty, I finally did what any professional would do – I busted out the duct tape and taped over the cracks in and putty on the wall (and of course, then I painted it).

Oh how I grumbled to the Lord about the house and lack of blessings. I complained that I was ashamed of inviting people over. Then you know what? God convicted my heart and said to me, “Look around you. Open your eyes. You have two ice boxes and three cars in your garage. You also have two dogs and two cats that you feed twice a day and eat more in one day than some of my people eat in one week! You have a roof over your head, a shelter and you have a home when many are homeless.”

Right then and there I repented before the Lord. I said, “Lord—no wonder I don’t have great things in my life. I’m not thankful and faithful in the small things. I’m not making the best of what you put before me. I am so sorry.” Then I started thanking the Lord for the smallest of things:  the next breath that I took, the next heartbeat that passed, and the next sight I saw. I said, “I want to be faithful and thankful. I want to be a person that You can trust. I don’t want to overlook, underestimate, ignore or despise anything You have put before me—no matter how small it is. I know You can take that and add greater things into my life.”

So like the young boy with the loaves of bread and fish, we might think we have little or nothing to offer; but he gave what little he had to Jesus and the Lord turned the situation around and multiplied it into a great miracle. The two things we can learn from that story are:  

·        NO ONE IS INSIGNIFICANT IN GOD’S KINGDOM.

You might think you are insignificant, but you aren’t. God wants to do significant things in you. Also:

·        BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT LITTLE YOU MAY HAVE.

It’s a simple thing to do…to be thankful. There are so many people in the world who have practically nothing yet what do we do (with all that we have)? We grumble. There I was grumbling when I was so blessed. I just needed to open my eyes.

God wants to take His big and put it on our little. He wants to take the biggest thing – the greatest thing He has to offer, His Son Jesus Christ – and come and live through us and our little old lives. Can you imagine that?

I don’t know where you have been, or what you are going through. Life is not about that. It’s about where you are going. It’s about how you get back up. You may think you are small in God’s kingdom but God wants to do something major, something huge, in you.

Maybe you are like me; you want to be considered a good and faithful servant. You want to say, “Lord, I underestimated and ignored the small things You placed before me. I want to be a thankful person and someone You can trust.” God has placed so many small things in our lives to check our hearts and see if we are faithful. He also wants to add on so much more. When it comes to God, the big is in the little.

At my lowest point in life when I felt insignificant and worthless, God did a big miracle in what little was left of me. He can do the same for you (and do the same through you) if you let Him. A kind gesture or an act of love is never too small for God to use, and no one is insignificant in God’s kingdom. And remember to be thankful for what little you may have.

Thank you so much for having me share with you. God bless you and aloha.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Can you remember a time when someone did a little thing for you that felt huge and wonderful, and helped you to see your value? What similar kindness can you do for someone else? Who has God laid on your heart?
2. Is there something, or someone, you have underestimated or ignored? How can you express a change of heart?

3.      Is there something small you can plant, that would bear fruit for others to enjoy? Pray and wait on God for an answer.

4. In this little life that we live, we need to make a big decision about where we will spend all of eternity. Have you made your decision?

5.      For all of eternity, you and I are going to exist somewhere. This life is preparation. Ask a friend, “Do I seem like I’m living more for this life or for eternal life? Where is my ‘treasure’?”

Pastor Matt Higa is originally from Kalihi, Oahu but has been pastoring in Kapaa Kauai for almost three years now. He likes to joke about how rural Kapaa is and how the folks on Kauai are “a little different”, “country folk”. He mentions that the permanent Kauai population of 56,000 can all fit in the Aloha Stadium and that the locals commonly refer to themselves as “Kauaians”. “I like to have fun with them,” says Pastor Matt, “It has been an interesting transition, and God has done mighty and wonderful things.”

Much “Mahalo” to Robin Hart who is using the little talents that God has given her in a way that He can use it to touch and save lives around the world!